31 July, 2009

Viewing Australia through the eyes of an outsider

Australian houses have garages. This has been brought to our attention many times in the past few weeks by our boys. They seem caught up on the issue. I have to admit, having our car parked practically in our kitchen is a novelty for me! But to them it is even weirder!
I'm not sure whether they are feeling positive or negative about it just now, but our middle son got mad about it the other day. Strange - to me it doesn't seem to be an emotive type issue. But maybe it has come to symbolise the many differences our boys are noticing. Things like Australian roads are wide and cars travel fast, we use freeways far more often. They've had to relax and experiment with some different sports too.
Culture shock! It is challenging for us to realise that, even though these boys look like ordinary Aussies and call themselves Australians and mostly sound Australian, they really don't have an insider's understanding of the country. Some understanding, but it is patchy. My husband and I grew up here, so imbibed the culture as we grew, these guys have to learn it. Much like we've had to learn about Japan in a not so natural way.

4 comments:

I suppose what makes them angry is that by the other people they are expected to feel at home. If they were "real" Japanese coming to Australia nobody would expect them to know everything and to feel at home in a country which is actually foreign (or at least half-foreign) to them.

It's interesting to see you comments about the boys. They so clearly are TCKs. I pray that God will continue to give you the wisdom you need as parents, and that God will help them to settle in well for this year in Australia, giving them a chance to learn something of their own country, while knowing that no matter where in the world you live, people & God love them.

Ho yeah, they are TCKs. The other day I asked our 6 y.o. if there were any Asians in his class. He said, "No, just me I guess." Somewhat Japanese on the inside. But certainly no one expects that. Thank you for your prayers, K.

The tIme now in Tokyo, Japan

About Me

Tokyo, Japan

I'm an Aussie with three boys who's lived in Japan for most of the last 17 years. My husband, David, teaches at an American international school – Christian Academy in Japan (CAJ) in Tokyo. I edit a magazine, manage a blog for OMF Japan, and write freelance articles among many other things. Another label some give us is missionaries. Combine all of this and I find heaps to write about.
I'd love to hear from you. You can reach me here: wendy.marshall04 at gmail.com